Zodiac Academy: The Awakening
The Awakening: Chapter 20

AFTER SPENDING A day dodging questions about the night I’d spent dancing with the Heirs, I was ready to admit that drunk Tory hadn’t done me any favours yet again.

The following morning we spotted Marguerite and Kylie throwing glares at us the moment we arrived at The Orb as if their relationship issues came down to us instead of being a problem with the douchebags they’d selected for themselves. For the sake of avoiding their nonsense, we decided to grab breakfast to go which we ate on route to our lesson rather than deal with any more of their crap.

At the end of the day, I said a quick goodbye to Darcy as we left our Cardinal Magic class and headed in opposite directions along the vaulted corridors of Jupiter Hall. She was off with Diego and Sofia for a study session in Venus Library but I just wasn’t in the headspace for more work. We had plans to meet in two hours for dinner at The Orb and in the meantime I had every intention of going for a nap. These early wake-up calls were wreaking havoc with my perfect sleep patterns and I just couldn’t force myself into the habit of going to bed a minute before midnight. I’d always been a night owl and the crack of sunset was no time for me to be headed towards slumber. So I decided that I could catch up with a nap without having to try and alter my bedtime.

As I walked to the back exit of the building, a junior slammed his shoulder into me hard enough to knock my satchel from my shoulder and send all of my books flying.

I cursed him as I scrambled to retrieve them while the rest of the class swarmed around me and headed off down the stairs towards the exit. Thanks to some less than accidental kicking, I was forced to scurry about and grab a few scattered pages.

I knelt down as I tried to piece everything back together and refill my satchel and the sound of giggling reached me from the stairwell.

“Hurry up!” I recognised Marguerite’s voice. “That jumped up little boyfriend thief is going to be here any second and we need to get every moment of this on camera,” she hissed.

I stilled, listening for more as I got the feeling I knew exactly who she was waiting for.

“I didn’t think you and Darius were officially dating?” another girl asked.

“He belongs with me,” Marguerite growled. “Anyone with eyes can see that!”

“Careful with that Pegasus shit, Bianca!” Kylie snapped.

I straightened and half turned away from the stairwell, planning to go the long way around and avoid whatever glittery-shit filled hell they had planned for me but I stopped myself before I could scurry away.

I’d never been one to run from a fight before so why the hell should I run from a bunch of mean girls just because they’d claimed ownership over a man-whore and wanted to punish me for stumbling into his path?

I eyed the stairwell as I tried to come up with a solution. The stairs were narrow and spiralled tightly down to the lower floor and it sounded like the girls were fairly close by.

I still had very little chance of beating any of the older students head on with my magic but there was one thing I could easily do.

I lifted my hands with a smirk and summoned water, letting my power build and build before finally releasing it in a torrent that flew from me and flooded the entire stairwell.

The girls shrieked as they were drenched and I turned and ran the other way before they could come back for me.

Their footsteps were quick to follow from the stairs and I slipped into the closest door, grinning to myself as I listened for the sound of them passing. Their cries of anger and thundering footsteps passed right by outside and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from laughing. They hadn’t seen me and that meant I had one less issue to deal with today at least.

“Hiding from someone?” an amused voice cooed behind me and my heart sank like a stone as I spun to survey the classroom I’d believed to be empty.

My gaze fell on Caleb as he smiled predatorily from the shadows where he was seated.

“Well damn, I’ve run straight from a pack of hyenas into the mouth of a crocodile,” I muttered.

“Not a lion?” he teased and the fact that he hadn’t even bothered to rise only confirmed the fact that I had no chance of escaping him.

“Oh no, they hunt together, you don’t strike me as the type to need any help in cornering your prey.”

“Sometimes it comes right to me without me having to do a thing,” he agreed and I caught the trace of hunger in his dark eyes.

I took a steadying breath, pushing aside the urge to run. We both knew he had me and racing through the corridors filled with witnesses before inevitably ending up pinned against a wall and drained didn’t really appeal to me. There was a quiet kind of dignity in just accepting my fate. One day I’d be strong enough to fight him off, but as much as it angered me, that day hadn’t come yet.

“Shall we just get this over with then?” I asked, stepping towards him with purpose. If I was going to be used as a human juice carton I’d sooner do it on my own terms. I kept my stride even as I pulled my long hair over my right shoulder, baring my throat to him.

Caleb’s gaze slid to my neck before trailing lower as he took in my curves, a different kind of hunger lighting his navy eyes.

Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet and I stopped a foot away from him, tipping my head to look up at him.

“You know, I can feel your power,” he breathed, leaving the space between us empty and my heart began to beat a little faster. I wished he’d just get on with it but I didn’t think begging him to get it over with was the best way to negate this torture so I just held my ground.

“Any idea on what I am then?” I asked, wondering if the different Orders of Fae tasted like flavours of pop. With a bit of luck, I wouldn’t become his favourite.

“Sadly not. I can only feel the depth of your power, the strength of it. And you’re strong. Once you learn to harness it, I have the feeling that I won’t be able to take an ounce of it from you without permission.” His lips twitched into a smile and I couldn’t help but stare at them for a moment, wondering if I might like them a little more if only they didn’t hide his fangs.

“Why the hell would I ever give you permission?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. Sure, I wasn’t exactly fighting him off now but this wasn’t permission; it was bitter acceptance. We both knew that I couldn’t fight him off… yet. But if there was any chance in hell of me growing strong enough to manage it then I knew without a doubt that I would do just that.

Caleb reached out and brushed his cool fingers across the flickering pulse at the base of my throat. My skin skittered with nervous energy in response and a faint tingle of pleasure which I refused to acknowledge came along with it.

“You’re an Heir too. If you make it past The Reckoning and complete your training here at Zodiac then the chances are that we will be in each other’s lives for a very long time.”

“I thought the whole point of your little boys club was to make sure my sister and I didn’t make it through the Reckoning? Don’t you want us gone?” I demanded.

Caleb shrugged one broad shoulder and I was struck with the sense that maybe he wasn’t as desperate to get rid of us as I’d presumed. The four of them were such assholes but on an individual level, Caleb hadn’t done much beyond hunting and biting me. The incident in the cave was a little different but even then he hadn’t been overly nasty about it. He had a way about him that suggested all of it was some big game he was being forced to play but I never really got the same sense of malice from him as I did from the others. And now that I understood the way the Fae world worked, I knew that he’d do the same to anyone who challenged his position. So his behaviour wasn’t necessarily as personal of an assault as it seemed.

“I’m interested to see how this whole thing will play out,” he admitted. “Perhaps you’ll fail and be gone by the end of the semester. Or perhaps you’ll rise up and claim your birthright. Before your parents were killed our families were their councillors. We always would have held the power beneath you if things hadn’t gotten so messy with The Savage King. So maybe you’ll fail The Reckoning and be sent back to your boring, mortal lives or maybe the trials you’re enduring now will only make you stronger in the end and you’ll pass.”

“So in other words, you’re just going to keep going along with the other Heirs and their stupid stunts and whenever you’re feeling peckish I’m still fair game,” I snapped.

“Pretty much,” Caleb chuckled.

I let out a huff of irritation. No knights in shining armour here. Not that that was much of a surprise. Besides, I’d never needed one before so I wasn’t going to look for one now. My sister and I had taken care of ourselves for a long time and as soon as we figured out how to harness everything we had from our Elements to our Orders, then these assholes would replace out just who they’d been messing with.

“Can you just get this over with? I have a lot of studying to do.” Or napping to do but he doesn’t need to know that.

“Don’t you want to hear my proposition, Tory?” Caleb asked, his voice caressing my name as he inched into my personal space.

“I can’t imagine anything that you could offer me to make me a willing participant in your dinner schedule,” I deadpanned.

“There may be one thing,” he countered.

Before I could demand an answer, he caught my chin between his fingers and pressed his mouth to mine.

My heart stuttered in surprise as his lips captured mine, his tongue pressing into my mouth and sending a spike of desire flooding though my limbs. Of course I knew how attractive he was; you couldn’t miss the cut of his chiselled features or the way his dirty blonde hair curled in that perfectly imperfect way.

I should have been pushing him back; he was one of them. But as I raised my hands to his chest with the full intention to shove him off, I found my fingers roaming over the hard plains of his muscles instead.

Caleb released a noise of satisfaction deep in the back of his throat as his hands moved to my waist and he walked me backwards until my thighs hit the hard line of a desk.

He lifted me easily, nudging my knees apart so that he could move between my legs and my heart thundered as the evidence of his desire pressed against me through the fabric of our clothes.

I slid my hands around his neck, drawing him closer as I devoured the taste of him and explored his hair with my fingertips.

Caleb’s hand moved to my knee, his thumb skimming the top of my long socks before he began an ascent up my thigh.

My breathing hitched as his fingers moved beneath my skirt and I hooked my other leg around him, urging him on.

I didn’t know if I hated him or not but I did know that my blood was heating and desire was unfurling in me like the wings of a bird. He was still going to bite me, steal some of my power for himself, but maybe this was the answer to my feelings on that. At least this once, I could take something from him too.

I could feel that cocky smile gracing his lips beneath mine and I drew his bottom lip between my teeth, biting down hard enough for him to pull back in surprise.

Caleb laughed as he surveyed me, his hand still beneath my skirt as he paused a millimetre from the edge of my underwear. I eyed him curiously. I didn’t want him to stop but I wondered if this was just another of their twisted games.

“Why?” I asked breathily, needing to know that this wasn’t some preplanned bullshit. “You can just take what you want from me. So why kiss me?”

“I can take your blood and power from you,” he agreed darkly as his gaze slipped from my face to roam over my body. “But I desire more than that. And I’m a Taurus; when we set our minds on something it’s not easy to turn us from it.”

I scoffed lightly at that. I still found it hard to buy into every aspect of the star sign stuff. I guessed a little part of me just couldn’t fully forget those silly suggestions in the daily newspapers that so many mortals clung to for reassurance. Though I probably should be believing all of it given my current surroundings.

I didn’t know if I should trust him or not, I had notoriously terrible taste in men and I always, always picked the bad guy. But nothing could get my blood pumping like knowing I was playing with something I couldn’t control and Caleb Altair was as unpredictable as the wind.

“You didn’t seem so against the idea the other night,” he urged as I failed to respond.

“That was drunk Tory,” I countered. “She’s notorious for making bad decisions so I wouldn’t get too excited about anything you think she might have done with you. You shouldn’t presume anything that happens when I’m wasted will have any bearing on sober Tory.”

“And you think I’d be a bad decision?” Caleb asked with amusement.

My lips quirked in response. “I’ve been with enough bad decisions to recognise one when I see them.”

“How many, exactly?” he asked, leaning in to run his lips along my neck, his stubble teasing my skin.

“Enough to let me know that it’s a terrible idea.” My breath caught as his mouth made it to the corner of mine. “Probably not enough to put me off entirely.”

He chuckled darkly and the sound made my toes curl and my grip tighten on the edge of the table.

He held back for another moment, pinning me in those eyes the exact shade of the night’s sky. There was a long pause as I tried to weigh up the pros and cons of this situation. It wasn’t like he’d lured me here; this was just an accidental meeting and I couldn’t deny the ache in my body to see this through. My heart was pounding, my skin alight beneath the pressure of his hand at the highest point of my leg and I really wanted him to move it just a few inches higher… Besides, making nice with one of the Heirs could hardly be a bad thing, given our predicament.

My gaze slid over his uniform and I bit my lip as I reached forward to unhook the top button of his crisp, white shirt.

Caleb’s eyes hooded with a dark desire and he watched me as I worked my way down his buttons until I could push my hands inside his shirt and feel the hard lines of his muscles beneath my palms.

He shivered beneath my touch and pressed forward to kiss me again. This time I abandoned the last of my hesitation and gave myself to the moment. Being in this place hadn’t exactly offered me much in the way of enjoyment so far and I was more than willing to take this pleasure from him.

He resumed his assent up my thigh, his thumb pressing down exactly where I wanted it and forcing me to release a gasp of pleasure against his lips.

Caleb began circling his thumb against me through the thin barrier of my underwear and I arched my back as my skin came alive beneath his touch.

His kisses grew more urgent as his other hand began to unhook my shirt buttons too and I continued to explore his body with my hands.

I could feel an ache building within me, demanding more from him as he continued to drive me towards the edge. His hand shifted and he pushed my underwear aside before driving a finger inside me.

I moaned encouragingly as the need in my body moved closer to unfolding and his other hand made it to my bra as he caressed my breast through it.

His mouth moved away from mine, carving a line of energy across my jaw and down my throat. I tensed as his lips touched against my hammering pulse but he didn’t bite me, not yet, he moved lower and I tilted back to give him access to all of me.

Caleb pulled my bra down as his lips made it to my breast, his mouth claiming my nipple just as he drove another finger into me.

I moaned again, louder this time despite our surroundings, my eyes falling closed as I leaned back further and my muscles began to tense around him. He kept going, his grip on me tightening, his mouth demanding on my flesh as he felt me coming apart beneath him.

My breaths came in urgent pants as his fingers drove me on and I tipped over the edge with a cry of pleasure.

Caleb’s mouth captured mine as he absorbed my ecstasy with a growl of his own desire and he guided me through the last throes of what he’d done to my body.

I melted against him as he kissed me sweetly, pulling his hand back with a twinge of regret.

He stepped back an inch, breaking our kiss and I blinked up at him in surprise.

“I have a student coming in a minute to learn the art of vampirism from an expert,” he admitted reluctantly.

I chewed my lip as my gaze slipped over his open shirt, the perfection of his muscles which dipped into a v and disappeared beneath his waistband until I eyed the evidence of his arousal beneath his trousers.

“So that was purely for my benefit?” I asked in surprise as I slowly began to re-button my own shirt.

Caleb’s jaw ticked with frustrated amusement. “Oh no, I got plenty from that too,” he assured me with a look which made heart surge along my limbs.

He began to button his own shirt again and a pang of regret filled me as his body was concealed once more.

My legs still felt a little weak and I lingered on the desk as the silence spread between us. I wasn’t sure what this meant; it was certainly no declaration of love but it felt like maybe we’d just come to a parlay. A middle ground where we didn’t hate each other at least. And I was happy to admit I’d accept that kind of friendship from him any day.

His dark blue eyes slipped to my neck again and I sighed dramatically.

“You’re still going to bite me, aren’t you?” I asked, my fingers curling around the edge of the desk in anticipation.

“You could look at it as rewarding me for my efforts,” he teased, clearly not even considering letting me off the hook.

“Well that makes me feel a little better about leaving you with blue balls,” I replied with a smirk.

Caleb’s eyes glimmered with promise. “Next time, I’ll be sure to carve out a few hours to dedicate to you,” he murmured. “And then neither of us will be left wanting.”

My heart pounded excitedly at the prospect of that but I refused to let it show. “Next time?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

Caleb regarded me for a few seconds before moving close to tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Are you going to the dance on Friday?” he murmured and my pulse did a little trip over itself in surprise. Was he about to ask me to the dance? What we’d just done was fun but I was hardly about to start parading around the Academy with him, declaring myself as his somehow.

“Err, yeah,” I said, waiting to see where he was going with this.

“Why don’t you blow it off?” he asked and I blinked at him in surprise. Not asking me to the dance then, just trying to stop me from going and having any fun with my friends.

“What possible reason would I have to do that?” I asked, tilting my head just enough to make his hand fall from my face.

Caleb’s lips twitched as he noticed the change in my tone and he ran the dislodged hand down my arm instead. “Because then I could sneak out and come to your room. We could have the whole House and an entire evening to ourselves,” he said suggestively.

“That’s pretty presumptuous of you, Earth boy.”

“Earth boy?” he asked with a smirk and he held a hand out to me, a dark blue flower blossoming to life in his palm as he flexed his Elemental muscles.

“Perhaps I’ve gotten what I wanted from you now,” I said, shifting forward to rise from the desk without taking the flower from him.

Caleb let the flower dissolve into nothing again as he stepped forward to stop me, a dark smile lighting his face. “I’m confident you’ll come back for more,” he assured me and the hitch in my pulse made me wonder if he was right. There was no way I’d be skipping the dance for his benefit though.

The door opened behind us and my heart leapt as I looked around and a Vampire who I’d seen in my Water Elemental class stepped into the room. His eyes widened as he spotted us in the compromising position but before I could do anything to cover for us, Caleb’s fangs slid into my skin.

I flinched in surprise and fought back the urge to whimper in response to the pain as he fed on me. His hand fisted in my hair to hold me in place and I gritted my teeth as I rode it out.

After several long seconds had passed, he pulled back, his eyes meeting mine for a moment with a twinkle of amusement in them. My fist clenched with the desperate desire to punch him but I held back, knowing it was only likely to get me knocked on my ass.

“Lesson one for today, Teddy,” Caleb said, turning his attention to the boy who’d interrupted us. “Always prey on the most powerful creature you can overpower. Tory here hasn’t got a lock on her powers yet, so she’s currently fair game. Although unluckily for you, I’ve already claimed her as my Source so keep your fangs off.”

I pushed myself to my feet, pushing Caleb back a step as I retrieved my satchel from the ground beside us.

“Lesson two,” I said coolly as I glared at Teddy who seemed inclined to try his luck with me despite Caleb’s warning. “Don’t underestimate the depths of vengeance. My sister and I have more power than the lot of you, and you’d be fools to think we won’t remember what we went through while we were getting to grips with handling it.”

I knocked my shoulder against Teddy’s as I passed and he stumbled aside, clearly heeding my warning as I headed for the exit.

I pulled the door open but before it could close behind me, Caleb’s voice followed me out.

“Until next time, Tory!” he promised. And as I adjusted my shirt self consciously, I found myself wondering if I was dreading that or looking forward to it.